Metal derrick and the like



Feb. 24. 1925.

I L. C. MOORE METAL DERRICK AND THE LIKE Patented Feb.. 24,- 1925.

- "1,527,323 OFFICE.

. nur: c. lnoemt, or TULSA, OKLAHOMA, Assieme 'ro nun c. Moons e coureur, mc.,

on' rmrsnunemrnuusnvnma, n concentrici: or rnuusnvsmn.

' METAL DEBRZSK AND THE LIKE.

Applicationl Med July 10, w22. Serial No. 573,975.

To all whomy t may concern 4 Be it lniown that l, Lun C. Moonn, a citizen of the United States, and u resident of Tulsa, in the countyof Tulsa and State s of klahorna, have invented u new and useful improvement in Metal Derricks and the like, ot which the following is a specifica- -tiono i t 'lhe 'invention relates to metal towers, der-i ie rieles and the like, and although unlimited vto sny part-iculur u e, it is especially epplicable to derriclrs or oil and gas wells. 'lihe object ot the invention is to provide leg or column portions for towers, derriclrs 'to und the like, which may be economically inenuiactured and easil erected, and which are capable of edectively resisting the verious stresses to which they are subjected when in service.

lhe invention is illustrated in the accompanyin drawings of' which Fig. l is a side vView or' a derrick, the intermediate portion being broken away; Fig 2 u longitudinel centrel sectional view to enlerged scale oi e 25 leg section oi' the derrick oit Fig. l; und Fig.,

3 a perspective view of a clamp for comu-.ct`

ing adjacent sections ot the legp to tach other. y v f rlbe tower or derriclr illustrated is ci the so seme genereldesign and arrangement as that shown lin Patent No. 933,386 to Neill und inV Patent No. vl,llil,8l granted to me. lt comprises e plurality of legs, ol which there ymay be three, four or more, as desired, each beingv formed of a lurslityot tubular sections l, which terminate at the panel points. Clamps Q'engage' the ends of the leg sections at the panel points and ure rovided- Y with lugs for the attachment of iagonals tu' 3, and struts d. At the bottom of eachleg there is usually a base 5 having a'cup shaped member to receive the end of the leg, and at the top ofthe legv there is a, cap 6 for supporting certain parts of the rigging. According to this invention the legs ot the tower are formed of inner and outer con- .centric` tubes of un uel length, the inner tubes et the sections being lon r than the outer tubes and having their en s projecting beyond the outer tubes. J The 1m clumps are attached to the projecting ens ot the inner tubes, and stillen the legs at the panel points without the necessity of convtinuing the outer tubes .untilthe ends abutageinst each other, thereby ,effecting aseTv1n g of material.v 'lhe tubular leg sections may 'be variously constructed. For example they may be ormed'of concentric tubes connected to each other in the manner disclosed .in my above mentioned Patent No. 1,151,810,01 they may be otherwise. attached one to the other for the purposel of causing the two. pipes to reenforce each other whether subjected to large or small stresses. However, in the preferred embodiment of the Ainvention theinner tube -.is arranged rather loosely within the outer tube, suihcient clearance being allowed to permit the tubes to be readily placed one-within the other. This prey erred arrangement is clearly seen in Fig. 2 which shows inner tubes 7 having their ends abutting-against each other at the center of clamps 2, und `outer tubes 8 fitting loosely about the inner tubes and terminat ing et the upper end lower edges of the clamps., lf desired a third tube 'Iay be placed within and be coextensive with they inner tubetor1ning a triple "tubeleg as is occesionelly done ni forming derrick legs` ot' .the general churttcter contemplated herein. ln forming a tower leg according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the lower ends of the inner and outer tubes of the bottom leg section are iush and both rest upon vand are supported by a base 5. 'lhe inner tube 7 projects beyond the top of the outer tube 8 a distance equal to halt' the length of the framing clamp, and upon this projecting end the framing clamp is placed and permitted to rest upon the upper end ofV the outer tube. 0f the next leg section the lower end oflthe inner tube rests upon the upper end oli the inner tube of the lower leg section, and the lower end of the outer tube rests uponthe upper edge of the framing c5 clump. 'lhis construction is continued to the top of the leg except that at the upper soV .end of the short top leg section both the inner and outer tubes are cut ush to conform to the required dimensions and to afme 'ford e, seat for a cap 6. The upper section -is out in the held to-compensate for variations in't'heleugth of the lower sections so that Veuch leg may be the exact required or desired length. vThis is a. practical4 aldvanlos ta of considerable importance.

l @elle framing clamps 2 at the enel points may beef the general form i ustrated in ymyubove mentioned patent, or of any other suitable form.-` However, v.the clamps are lll tion of it. At the panel points vertical loads strength of the derrick.

ta he preferably of increased length for the purpose of increasing the strength and rigidity of the structure and also to facilitate the erection of the derrick. The clamps illustrated in the drawings are formed of rolled or forged metal of sufficient resiliency to ermit them to be tightened upon the projecting ends of the inner tubes of the leg sections. The outstanding ed es or lugs 9 for attaching the clamps to the eg sections preferably have only a small space between their adjacent faces so that the same length bolts may be usedfor attaching the clamps to the leg sections as for attaching the struts and braces to the clamps, thereby'facilitating the erection of the derrick.

While the invention is not limited to the dimensions of tubesused to form the legs, the legs may, for example., be formed of three-inch outer tubes and two and a half inch inner tubes with about one sixteenth of an inch clearance between them. When a leg, orv a portion of it, isunder tension, as it may be ina wind storm, the tensile strain is resisted by the inner tubes which are firmly connected to each other by the framing clamps. In resisting which is the normal and by far the greatest stress to which the leg section is su of the load and the outer tube another porare carried from the clamps to the 'upper ends of the outer tubes beneaththem, and

vertical loads carried by outer tubesin one leg section are carried directly through the clamp below such outer' tube. The inner and outer tubes reenforce each other' against lateral. deflection intermediate of the panel points when the legs are subjected,y to sufficient compression to cause-one or the other of the tubesto deflect laterally a slight distance so that the walls of the tubes are in contact with each other. Such deflection is within the 'elastic limit of the tube, and hence the tubes act together in resisting buckling. y i

The economy in manufacturing and lthe ease in erection of the derrick are manifest from the description of its construction. It is only necessary to cut the tubes to the proper length and attach the clamps to the projecting ends of the inner tubes. Cutting the outer shorter than' the .inner tubes has the further advantage of a. savin in material without in any -wa s acri cin the further a vange of the invention is that the clamps are d against longitudinal movement upon compression,

jected, the inner tube ofthe leg carries a portiony asazgaaal the leg sections by other than their frictional engagement with the le s. While this is of advantage at all pane points, it

is particularly advantageous at the lowerclamps to move longitudinally upon the legs is effectively resisted. These and numerous advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. A still further advantage of the invention is that in the preferred form illustrated in the drawings it is not necessary to connect by expansion or otherwise the inner 'to the outer tubes, nor is it necessaryl to cut the intermediate leg sections to exact size.

According to the provisions of the atent statutes, I have described the princip e and operation of the invention together with what I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the a pended claims, the invention may be practiced by other forms of construction than that particularly shown and described.

1. A leg for a tower, derrick and the like, formed of sections comprising inner and outer concentric tubes, the inner tubes projecting beyond the ends of the outer tubes at the panel points, and framing clamps engaging said projecting ends of the inne;` tubes, the ends of said outer tubes abutting against the ends of said clamps, and the adjacent rends of the inner tubes abutting against each other substantially midway between the ends of the clamps.

2. A leg for a tower, derrick and the like, formed of sections com rising inner and outer concentric tubes, t e inner tubes fitting loosely within the outer tubes and having their ends projecting beyond theends of the outer tubes, and framing clamps engaging said projecting ends of the inner tubes, the ends of said outer tubes abutting against the ends of said clam s, and the adjacent ends of the inner tu s abutting against each other substantially midway between the ends of the clamps. l i' In testimony whereof, I sign my name.

, C. R. KnAUsn, i F. D. Harms. 

